Mario Kart 8 Japanese ad embraces Luigi's death stare

Ever since its release in May, Mario Kart 8 has become infamous for Luigi's "death stare", an animation of everyone's favourite Mario brother revealing a sinister dark side behind the wheel.

Now, a Japanese commercial for the game has been released embracing the ominous internet meme. While the Death Stare only accounts for a small part of the ad, it's clearly a knowing nod to the popular internet phenomenon that was so ubiquitous that even fear-mongering media network Fox News took a dig at it.

Besides Luigi's Death Stare, Mario Kart 8 was a well-received game all around with Eurogamer contributor Simon Parkin calling it "the best entry in a series and the most exciting yet" in his Mario Kart 8 review, where he awarded Nintendo's racer a rare 10/10.